Shopsmith Forums

I just spent 4 very enjoyable and productive days with Brett Thompson from Texas who came with a van load of Shopsmith equipment he had just brought. We rebuild an early 80s headstock and modified the motor for reverse operation, upgrade to a double bearing quill, reconditioned the speed contol assembly and control/idler sheave assembly and installed new bearings and belts. We disassemble the bandsaw and installed the Blue Max tires on the wheels. I used a different way to install these tires using the tool that came with the tires. It took me less than 30 seconds to install and about a minute to go around the rim insuring the tire is in the center of the wheel. I have pictures and more details I will post later on the bandsaw. We installed my double bearing blade guide bearings and installed cool blocks. It took some time to do the tracking adjustments. We cleaned and lubricate the Thickness Planer jack posts and chain. We check the table position and operaton. I sharpen the planer knives. He is missing the feed motor and speed control box so he has to check with the seller to see if he missed them. I removed and sharpen the joiner knives for the joiner. We added 3 oz of oil to the jig saw and after a few attempts was able to get the blade tension correct for operation. We cleaned and checked the operation of the strip sander which was good.

During the break times I had to take, Brett cleaned most of the floor in my shop. He found enough stuff to fill a 90 gallon trash container, very little cardboard in this, I will put that that later in a different container. The container was picked up and dumped yesterday by the county. He arranged most of my moveable items to where I can actually get to my air compressor in a front corner for the first time in years. Most of the larger floor items like headstocks are now stored on shop shelving that I never got around to making use of. I have not have this much room to walk for many years. My declining health was my reason for not removing the trash at the time I discarded it or storing items on the shelves when I obtained them.

The next major shop jobs are removing all the unnecessary stuff off the benches, redoing the location of stored items on the shelves to put similar items together and then go through the cabinets and drawers to see what I have stored.

Thanks Brett.

billmayo wrote:MINI Tube Length
Way tubes -25 5/8"
Bench Tubes - 26 1/4"


SHORTY Tube Length
Way tube length - 38'
Bench Tube length - 38 3/4

Bill some where I read the mini was 26 3/8 & 25 5/8 ??? 3/8 vs 1/4 no bigger is it ?
Thanks

2centsworth wrote:Bill some where I read the mini was 26 3/8 & 25 5/8 ??? 3/8 vs 1/4 no bigger is it ?
Thanks

Mistype on my part. It is 26 3/8" for the bench tubes. Some days, my hands do not type what i am thinking or something like that.

Brett,

You are a true gentleman. A very simple act of kindness with tremendous impact.

Sounds like Brett and Bill both made out like bandits in this deal. Kudos to both of you!

2centsworth wrote:Bill some where I read the mini was 26 3/8 & 25 5/8 ??? 3/8 vs 1/4 no bigger is it ?
Thanks

Correct! 52" - 25 5/8" = 26 3/8".

So a pair of way tubes becomes the bench and way tubes for a mini(and leaves you with unaltered 'original' bench tubes).

One 'could' make a set from the bench tubes: 52 3/4" - 26" = 26 3/4".

JPG40504 wrote:Correct! 52" - 25 5/8" = 26 3/8".

So a pair of way tubes becomes the bench and way tubes for a mini(and leaves you with unaltered 'original' bench tubes).

One 'could' make a set from the bench tubes: 52 3/4" - 26" = 26 3/4".

You might want to check your measurements if you plan on using way tubes alone to make a mini. I use one bench tube and one way tube when I make a mini. The bench tube gets cut in half with no waste and yields two mini bench tubes that are 26-3/8" long. One way tube yields a 3/4" waste ring from the middle and two mini way tubes that are 25-5/8" long. I have only done a few dozen of these.

[quote="SDSSmith"]You might want to check your measurements if you plan on using way tubes alone to make a mini. I use one bench tube and one way tube when I make a mini. The bench tube gets cut in half with no waste and yields two mini bench tubes that are 26-3/8" long. One way tube yields a 3/4" waste ring from the middle and two mini way tubes that are 25-5/8" long. I have only done a few dozen of these.]
Lets see:
(52 3/4) / 2 = yields 2 (26 3/8) Uses one bench tube

52 - 3/4 = (51 1/4) / 2 = yields 2 (25 5/8) uses one way tube, with 3/4" scrap.

That creates one mini with 'proper' tubes for the bench and way tubes made from one each.

Requires only three cuts.

A reasonable approach for sure!

Makes much sense if one intends to do this more than once.

But then:

52 - 25 5/8 = 26 3/8 done twice creates the same tube lengths.

Requires 1 less 'cut'.

Albeit it places way tubes at the bench tube location on the mini, but it also saves the bench tubes intact and creates no scrap pieces.

Now if one has an 'extra' set of way tubes also, this makes more sense especially if no plans to repeat the procedure is on the horizon.


So the math is correct! However the objective differs.

Either is a perfectly reasonable method.


I think cut bench tubes would be ok for way tubes with a mini due to the decreased length so a mini and a mini(+3/8") are possible from a single set of bench/way tubes with no scrap.


A decision fer de 'cutter'.

JPG40504 wrote:Lets see:
(52 3/4) / 2 = yields 2 (26 3/8) Uses one bench tube

52 - 3/4 = (51 1/4) / 2 = yields 2 (25 5/8) uses one way tube, with 3/4" scrap.

That creates one mini with 'proper' tubes for the bench and way tubes made from one each.

Requires only three cuts.

A reasonable approach for sure!

Makes much sense if one intends to do this more than once.

But then:

52 - 25 5/8 = 26 3/8 done twice creates the same tube lengths.

Requires 1 less 'cut'.

Albeit it places way tubes at the bench tube location on the mini, but it also saves the bench tubes intact and creates no scrap pieces.

Now if one has an 'extra' set of way tubes also, this makes more sense especially if no plans to repeat the procedure is on the horizon.]
So the math is correct![/U] However the objective differs.

Either is a perfectly reasonable method.


I think cut bench tubes would be ok for way tubes with a mini due to the decreased length so a mini and a mini(+3/8") are possible from a single set of bench/way tubes with no scrap.


A decision fer de 'cutter'.

Thanks for checking my math, but after building quite a few of these I was pretty sure that I had that correct.

JPG40504 wrote:
So a pair of way tubes becomes the bench and way tubes for a mini(and leaves you with unaltered 'original' bench tubes).

I questioned your premise of using one set of way tubes to generate a mini of 'normal' dimensions. Doing that would create bench tubes of 26" length and way tubes of 25-1/4" length. If you intend to have an SPT in both power mounts simultaneously, you have to be careful that you do not make the Mini tooooo mini. Too short and you limit your ability to mount the power coupler depending upon what is mounted in the power mounts.


Oh and not to lose sight of the original post as so often happens here, nice job Bill and Brett!

I have surely enjoyed having a headstock with a forward and reverse on my Mini. It is sooo nice to be able to mount many of the SPT's on either end and drive them in the correct direction.

I would pity anyone that would have to try and organize my workspace. I learned from my father "a pile for everything and everything in its pile.":D

SDSSmith wrote:Thanks for checking my math, but after building quite a few of these I was pretty sure that I had that correct. ]way [/B]tubes to generate a mini of 'normal' dimensions. Doing that would create bench tubes of 26" length and way tubes of 25-1/4" length. If you intend to have an SPT in both power mounts simultaneously, you have to be careful that you do not make the Mini tooooo mini. Too short and you limit your ability to mount the power coupler depending upon what is mounted in the power mounts.


Oh and not to lose sight of the original post as so often happens here, nice job Bill and Brett!

I have surely enjoyed having a headstock with a forward and reverse on my Mini. It is sooo nice to be able to mount many of the SPT's on either end and drive them in the correct direction.

I would pity anyone that would have to try and organize my workspace. I learned from my father "a pile for everything and everything in its pile.":D

Lovejoy is a 'contingency' plan!;)

P.S. Missed the 'pile' comment first time read. My father did not teach me this(from whom I learned shall remain one of life's great mysteries), but is that anything like a place for a pile and every pile in it's place? Actually after much growth of each pile, they tend to merge!:eek:

P.P.S. "I questioned your premise of using one set of way tubes to generate a mini of 'normal' dimensions. Doing that would create bench tubes of 26" length and way tubes of 25-1/4" length."

I never said 'that!' Again: 52 - 26 5/8 = 26 3/8 = one way and one bench tube of 'normal' mini length(i.e. same as yoruns). BTW what starts out as a tube of 26 + 25 1/4 = 51 3/4 length??? ;>}